


This Jacket is Worth More Than Your Life, Peasant.

by Morshel



Category: Briar Rose University
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting mauled by unknown sources, Learning the true meaning of Friendship, M/M, To lovers?, With a little more angst at the end :), roommates to enemies to friends, we shall see ;)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 15:04:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17921096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morshel/pseuds/Morshel
Summary: A couple boys learn the true meaning of friendship by being dicks to each other.





	1. Chapter 1

Fulvous was leaning against his dorm wall, tapping his foot impatiently. He groaned and uncrossed his arms to pull his phone out. The gold accents on his case looked dull under the fluorescent laundry room lights. Briar just didn’t seem to understand mood lighting. He shot off a second text to Fennec, who had promised to do his laundry _help_ him with his laundry. Apparently just buying new ones every time his got dirty was _not_ a sustainable solutions. A glance at the clock told him it was fifteen minutes past when they planned to meet. He was pretty sure Fennec didn’t have any classes this late at night, though he could be wrong. He didn’t exactly memorize his roommate’s schedule. It didn’t matter, Fulvous had better things to do. He left the building, a little annoyed. _Paid_ friends wouldn’t stand him up. Mainly because he’d fire them if they did. It didn’t bother him, not really. He did suppose he had a test tomorrow to study for, as well. Fulvous kept telling himself it was for the best as he walked along the warmly lit path back to the dorm.

He was only a few minutes out when he heard what sounded like… groaning? Against the rustling leaves and crying cicadas, the light noises of pain were hard to make out. He looked around, eyes narrowed. If he got mugged or stabbed because he helped someone, his daddy would sue the pants off of the school. It’s not like anyone would do that for him, anyways. Why should he- Oh. 

Fulvous’ eyes followed a light trail marked by a few splatters and smears of blood. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to follow it. Morbid curiosity, his desire to be heroic and liked, whatever it was, it was idiotic. The smell of blood hit him like a truck as he rounded the corner to a nook between buildings. His eyes widened as the trail led up to a  _ person.  _ Or… what used to be one. He held his hand to his mouth to keep in screams or vomit, he wasn’t sure. He pulled out his phone to call an ambulance, dialing 911 as quickly as possible with his shaking hands. 

“...help?”

Fulvous near dropped his phone. No. Nope, this couldn’t be… He moved closer, noticing the white underneath the blood stained hair. The voice was rough and gravelly, but it was unmistakably-

“Fennec?” 

The other laughed, if you could call it that. More of a sickening gurgle. He’d been burying his face close to him, and it seemed to take far too much energy to look up at Fulvous.

“Oh, ‘s you?” His face was pale, eyes half lidded, but he managed a bit of a smirk. His hair was slick with blood, sticking up at odd angles. He moved to push himself up, but he barely moved before letting out a pained hiss and closing his eyes again. 

“No, no- Stop! Don’t move,” he kneeled next to him, hovering his hands over Fennec’s wounds. He didn’t know what he should do, and he didn’t want to make anything worse. He heard you should apply pressure to the wound, but his  _ whole stomach _ was a wound. He took off his jacket and put it on the worst looking part, wincing as blood began to soak through. He did his best to ignore how warm and sticky his fingers felt. “What did this to you?” More importantly, where did it go? 

“M’ fault. ‘S gone now, I think.” Fennec looked down at himself, somehow unbothered by what was likely the worst sight Fulvous had ever seen. The “I think” wasn’t doing wonders for his anxiety, but the other option was to leave Fennec to bleed to death. 

“You think? You might be quite possibly the worst roommate ever, you know.” He pressed down on the wettest part. You were supposed to apply pressure, right? He inhaled sharply at the soft cry from Fennec, listening for an ambulance. 

Fennec chuckled, “Maybe you’ll get a new one aft’r all this,” he leaned his head back. “Maybe they’ll ‘preciate your classy shit.” He took shallow breaths, each one seemed to be like glass on his throat. He grinned, “Or maybe you’ll realize you got lucky as hell w’ me, man.” His eyes closed slightly as he exhaled.

“Y-yes, I’d have to pay someone entirely new. They might be even worse than you, so don’t say that. One peasant roommate is enough for me, I don’t want to get used to another,” he rambled. He noticed Fennec’s eyes hadn’t re-opened. That wasn’t good, he was pretty sure. It’s not like he had any medical knowledge, or this was a common thing. “Fennec? Are you awake?”

Fennec nodded, “Gettin’ tir’d, though. ‘S hard to sleep when y’ keep prattling on, dick.” He didn’t close his eyes again, letting his head loll to the side instead.

Fulvous breathed out a relieved sigh, “I’m the only one around here who can make sensible conversation, excuse you. Would you prefer Vlad muttering about how cute you are?” 

That got a little groaned protest out of Fennec, “‘Ey, don’t make fun of my husb’nd, he’s great.” There wasn’t any actual anger in his tone, but it was hard to tell with how tired he seemed.

“He’s your husband again? Goodness, he was just a hookup last time you talked about him.” Fulvous shook his head, ignoring how much this position made his knees hurt. His kneecaps were insured, he had delicate bird bones. He was gonna make Fennec’s life hell, after this.

“He’s good people,” Fennec breathed, softly. 

“Maybe to you, he looks like he could snap me in half. Can you not see how scary he is?” Fulvous laughed, or choked back some tears, but he preferred to think the former. “Not like he could ever hurt you, with how adorable he says you are. I imagine it would be like kicking a puppy, he’d probably cry at just the thought.” Fulvous was just ranting at this point, getting out all of his nervous energy.

“...yeah,” Fennec sighed. Fulvous waited for a moment, but that’s all the other had to say. His answers seemed to be getting shorter and shorter. 

Fulvous shook his head, “My jacket is completely ruined. I hope you know you’ll be paying me back for it. I’ll get you a job at Starlingbucks, you can work it off. It won’t be easy, this jacket’s probably worth more than your entire wardrobe combined.” Fennec didn’t respond, his eyes were still open, but glassy. “Fennec? You’re going to pay me for a new one, right?”

“Sure,” he slurred, not looking up. 

“You promise?”

“I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

Fulvous kept talking, trying to get Fennec to respond. His eyes were open, but dull and glassy. He didn’t know how to take a pulse, he couldn’t feel anything. The ambulance got there five minutes after Fennec’s last words. They pushed Fulvous away, taking his jacket off of Fennec and discarding it on the ground. A couple police officers quickly pulled him aside, asking what he knew, if he saw what did this. Fulvous shook his head, numbly. His response was largely the same to their other questions. He’d just been minding his own business, he didn’t mean to get dragged into all of this. They gave him a shock blanket and let him go back to his dorm after getting his name and information. He glanced back as he left, but the ambulance and Fennec’s body were gone.

“You can get some rest, son. We’ll talk to you later, if we need to,” an older officer told him, smiling kind but solemnly. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. Fulvous suspected he looked worse, though, covered in blood. A younger female cop escorted him back, but he waved her off once he reached his dorm. He curled up on his bed, waiting for sleep to claim him. This was the kind of thing he supposed you had real friends for, comfort and support. Too bad his only one had just been murdered.

He didn’t end up sleeping that night.

  
  


All his professors had given him the week off classes, hearing what happened. He was being treated a lot better than he usually was. Professor Ben patted him on the back and told him that not anyone could do what he did, stay so calm in that situation. That he did everything he could and he should be proud. Even Zane didn’t mess with him at Starlingbucks. It was what he wanted when he decided to help out. To be a hero, to get people’s respect. To be liked. Everyone told him to take some time for himself, but that just meant he had to spend more time in their-  _ his  _ empty dorm room. He hadn’t touched anything of Fennec’s yet, he was sure his family would get it at some point. He didn’t exactly want to be in the room when it happened.

Fulvous picked up a picture of Fennec and his dad, who looked nothing like him. He put it down, feeling kind of weird for going through Fennec’s things. His side of the room was pretty untouched, but Fulvous’ side was a mess. Fennec tended to help with cleaning, and Fulvous couldn’t be bothered with it. He’d just pay someone. “You couldn’t have shown me how to do laundry before you died?” He sighed, “Figures. My first friend and this happens.” Fulvous sat on his bed, “I’m never doing that again. Paid friends are so much better, I couldn’t care less about them.” He crossed his arms, “This is terrible, I hope you know that from hell, or wherever you are.”

“Right outside the room, but I’m glad you think I’d go to hell.” Fennec leaned against the doorframe, smug grin on his face. He was wearing an overly large sweatshirt and skinny jeans, “You considered me your  _ friend? _ ” Fennec chuckled, walking inside to sit down.

Fulvous gaped, “No- nope. Stop it. You’re dead.” He shook his head, “And obviously a ghost, so just  _ leave _ .” He turned around, ignoring him.

Fennec laughed, “Oh my god, it all makes perfect sense. Literally everyone else visited me, I wondered when you’d make an appearance to gloat for saving me life. Did no one tell you?” He snickered, holding up his wrist. The hospital bracelet was still tied around it, “I’ve been in the hospital for the past week. They knew I was gonna be fine by the second day.”

Fulvous looked back at him, brow furrowed, “So, you’re-”

Fennec snorted, taking Fulvous’ hand, “Not a ghost, idiot.”

Fulvous looked shocked, relieved, then indignant. “Well- I didn’t mean you’re my  _ friend _ , it’s just rude to speak ill of the dead. Even I know that,” he huffed, crossing his arms. “Come help me clean up, make yourself useful. I had to clean by myself for a week, it was dreadful.”

Fennec rolled his eyes, “I’m sure. I should have known you’d be useless without me.”

Fulvous squawked, “I’m not useless! You just haven’t been pulling your weight,” he bent down to get some of his dirty clothes together, “ _ especially _ since you’re apparently perfectly fine.”

“Yeah.” Fennec held his stomach, gripping the fabric of the sweatshirt in his fist. 

He nodded absently.

“I'm perfectly fine.”


End file.
